Device for supplying a set of beads to a lamp bulb



Jan. 26, 1965 w. c. TAZELAAR ETAL 3,166,825

DEVICE! FOR SUPPLYING A SET OF BEADS TO A LAMP BULB Filed April 8, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORE WILLEM G. TAZELAAR REINDER WESTRA BY ,m z. AGE/V Jan. 26, 1965 w. c. TAZELAAR ETAL 3,166,325

DEVICE FOR SUPPLYING A SET OF BEADS TO A LAMP BULB 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 8, 1963 FIG.6

INVENTORS WILLEM GTAZELAAR REINDER WESTRA BY brand/ K United States Patent 3 Claims. in. 29-451 The invention relates to a device for supplying a bead assembly including a glass bead, lead wires and filament to a lamp bulb, each bead assembly comprises two leadin wires which, in the proximity of the glass bead, extend approximately in parallel and are bent outwards in the manner of a hook at a position remote from the lightemerging member or filament. Said device comprises a holder for holding a bulb envelope which is provided with its neck portion uppermost and which device is further provided with an inclined guide whereby a head assembly may slide downwards over this guide supported by its hook-shaped parts and fall into the neck-shaped portion of the bulb. Such a device is known.

A drawback of the known device is that during the movement of the assembly across the guide, the centre of gravity of the assembly lies, with insufiicient certainty, vertically below that position where the hook-shaped parts of the assembly are in contact with the guide. As a result of this uncertainty, the bead assembly, after leaving the guide, will assume an initial position which may deviate from the desired vertical position. A bead assembly which begins its free fall in this manner, may move towards the neck of the bulb but does not fall into the bulb.

The object of the invention is to provide means with which a head assembly is given an initial position so that its free fall is vertical with great certainty.

The device according to the invention is characterized in that the lower end of the guide preferably is vertical and a member is provided which is movable with respect to that part of the guide. This member, in a position adjacent the guide, forms a stop against which the hookshaped members of the assembly impact when sliding down across the guide. This member is removed from its stop position only after the set has become stationary in its position determined by the stop member directly above the neck opening of the bulb. In the device according to the invention then, means are available by which a pause is introduced in the path to be traversed by the bead assembly in contrast with the known device in which the movement of the bead assembly across the guide until it falls into the bulb, is not interrupted. If the movement of the hook-shaped lead-in wires of the head assembly is temporarily interrupted, the remaining parts of the bead assembly can become stationary. Only after the bead assembly has become stationary, is the stop member removed and the bead assembly free to fall into the bulb provided directly below the lower end of the guide. The point where the stop member co-operates with the guide will preferably coincide with the lower end of that guide.

By introducing the above described pause, it is possible to compensate for the differences in the space between successive sets of beads which, even if they are supplied regularly, arrive at irregular intervals at the lower end of that guide. Thus, the device according to the invention may be advantageously used in a machine which comprises a great number of bulb envelope holders with bulbs to be provided with a bead assembly. An equal number of stationary inclined guides is provided at the 3,lhh,825 Patented Jan. 26, 1965 ice circumference of this machine, and each guide can irregularly receive a bead assembly.

After interrupting the movement of the hook-shaped parts of a head assembly, the remaining parts of this assembly are still swaying. The time which is required for the swaying to end may be shortened according to an additional feature of the invention by using a flap, pivotably connected to the stop member, which is capable of moving towards the guide. The mass of said flap preferably corresponds with the mass of the bead assembly to be supplied to the bulb, said flap being arranged so that the swaying set of beads impact against it and cause the flap to pivot. The assembly may be rapidly arrested by a complete momentum transfer between the swaying assembly at the stop member and the associated flap. Preferably, the current lead-in wires extending in parallel between the glass bead and the hook-shaped bend thereof are chosen for engagement with the flap. According to a further feature of the invention, means are provided to avoid a bead assembly, after it has en tirely arrested, falling through a comparatively large distance before entry into a bulb as a result of which its initial vertical position might be altered. For this purpose, means are used to vary the height of the bulb envelope holder which is provided directly below the lower end of the guide, which means become operative only if the bead assembly is arrested. Before moving the assembly into the bulb, first the neck of the bulb is positioned around the lowest part of the bead of the arrested set and the stop member is: moved away from the guide only then. As a result, the distance of the free fall of the bead assembly may be kept small.

In order that the invention may readily be carried into effect, one embodiment thereof will now be described more fully, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a filament lamp including a bead assembly.

FIG. 2 diagrammatically shows a plan view, and

FIG. 3 is a side view taken along the line IIIIII of FIG. 2, of the device according to the invention with which filament lamps may be provided with a bead assembly as seen in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section taken along the line IV--IV of FIG. 2.

FIGS. {5 and 6 serve to illustrate the operation of the device shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.

In the manufacture of filament lamps, one of the operations is to insert a head assembly into a glass bulb (FIG. 1). In FIG. 1 a glass bulb is indicated by 1. The

bead assembly comprises a bead 3 sealed onto lead-in wires 4 and 5 and the light-radiating member 8. The parts 6 and 7 of the wires are bent in the form of a hook; these parts are hooked behind the upper edge of the neck of the bulb 1.

For supplying a head assembly to a bulb, a device as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 may be used which includes an inclined guide. This guide is constituted by two parallel plates 11 and 12. A head assembly 13 provided on this inclined guide slides downwards in the direction of the arrow 16 (see also FIG. 4) since the upper edges 14 and 15 of the inclined guide support its hook-shaped parts 6 and 7. The neck of the bulb 1 is provided below i the inclined guide. By means of sub-ambient pressure, the bulb 1 is maintained in a holder 20 which comprises an opening 21 connected to a suction pipe.

It has appeared inevitable that a bead assembly moving on the guide performs a more or less swaying movement. The position of the bead assembly consequently is not always vertical. Causes which may contribute to this may be, for example, the incomplete smoothness of the upper edges 14 and 15 of the plates 11 and 12, the

more or less jerky supply of the bead assembly to the guide, etc. Also the possibility exists the head assembly may assume the position shown in FIG. 2 in dotted lines, during movement of the guide contributes to the fact that there is a rather great likelihood that the head assembly, when leaving the lower end of the guide, assumes a position which deviates from the desired vertical position.

In order to cause the bead assembly, on leaving the guide, to assume the desired vertical position, a member 25 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is used which is capable of reciprocating with respect to the lower end 26 of the guide, which preferably is vertical, in a direction which is indicated by the double arrow 27. This member 25 has two projections 28 and 29 and is connected to a rod 30. This rod pneumatically reciprocates in a stationary cylinder 31. In its position nearest the guide, the projections 28 and 29 engage the plates 11 and 12 and constitute a stop member against which the hook-shaped parts 6 and 7 of the moving head assembly 13 impact. After stopping the hook-shaped parts in the position determined by the projections 28 and 29, the lower part of the head assembly may stop swaying. Only if the bead assembly is entirely arrested in this position and has assumed a vertical position, is the member 25 removed from the guide and the set allowed to fall in the direction of the holder 20.

In order to insure that the vertical position of the bead assembly determined by the stop member, is also maintained until at least that part of the assembly containing the glass bead is located inside the neck opening 33 of the bulb 1, the'projections 28 and 29 of the member 25 co-operate with the guide, at the end of the vertical incline of the guide. After removing the member 25, the distance over which the hook-shaped parts 6 and '7 of a head assembly are in contact with the guide is negligible.

When the bead assembly has left the guide, it has to cover a comparatively large distance in a free fall before it arrives in the neck of the bulb. To avoid the vertical position of the head assembly at the onset of this free fall altering during the free fall, the bulb 1 is raised to the immediate proximity of the guide before removing the member 25. Thus (FIG. the bead assembly is held by its hook-shaped parts with the glass bead inside the neck of the bulb. .In order to provide this desired condition the holder 20 is slidable in a second guide 36. The movement of the holder 20 is derived from a cam mechanism (not shown). Starting with the situation depicted in FIG. 5, when the member 25 is removed from the inclined guide, the assembly 13 will have to move a small distance into the bulb, but this is not objectional, since the bead and the filament of the assembly are already surrounded by the wall of the bulb 1. Thereafter the holder is lowered.

A head assembly of which the hook-shaped parts are maintained in the position determined by the projections 28 and 29 may be arrested rapidly with respect to its swaying movement if a flap 4d of sheet material is used which may move with respect to the member 25 and which is bent at right angles. This flap 4%, which is connected to the member 25 by means of a pin 41, assumes the rest position shown in FIG. 3 in full lines and may be moved to the position shown in this figure in dotted lines. A head assembly arrested in its movement over the guide at the projections 28 and 29 will be swaying at a certain speed. After reaching the vertical section or" the guide it impacts against an edge portion of the flap 40 with its parts 4 and 5. Owing to the condition that the swaying mass of the head assembly and the flap 40 are approximately equal, a substantially complete momentum transfer takes place whereby the bead assembly is substantially arrested and the flap 40 is pushed away. This is shown in FIG, 6.

As a result of this impact, the flap arrives in the position indicated by The flap will again return to its initial position under the influence of its own weight.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for supplying a bead assembly to a lamp bulb, said head assembly including a filament, a glass bead, two lead-in wires which extend approximately in parallel through the glass bead and are bent outward in the manner of a hook at a position remote from the glass bead, said device comprising a holder for holding a bulb with its open neck portion facing upward, and an inclined guide on which a bead assembly slides downward and falls into the neck-shaped part of the bulb; said device being characterized in that the lower part of the inclined guide is vertically disposed, a member movable with respect to said lower part of the guide, said member in its position adjacent the guide constitutes a stop against which the hook-shaped parts of the bead assembly engage after sliding across the guide, said member being moved away from the guide after a bead assembly has been arrested in its position determined by the stop member directly above the neck opening of the bulb.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, with the addition of a flap pivotably connected to the member, the mass of said flap corresponding approximately to the mass of the bead assembly to be supplied to the bulb, said flap being mounted so that a swaying head assembly which is in the position determined by the stop member may impact against said flap and cause said flap to pivot.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, with the addition of means for varying the height of the bulb holder below said lower part of the guide, said means becoming operative only when the bead assembly has been arrested.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2 960,'762 Sindy Nov. 22, 1960 

1. A DEVICE FOR SUPPLYING A BEAD ASSEMBLY TO A LAMP BULB, SAID BEAD ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A FILAMENT, A GLASS BEAD, TWO LEAD-IN WIRES WHICH EXTEND APPROXIMATELY IN PARALLEL THROUGH THE GLASS BEAD AND ARE BENT OUTWARD IN THE MANNER OF A HOOK AT A POSITION REMOTE FROM THE GLASS BEAD, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A HOLDER FOR HOLDING A BULB WITH ITS OPEN NECK PORTION FACING UPWARD, AND AN INCLINED GUIDE ON WHICH A BEAD ASSEMBLY SLIDES DOWNWARD AND FALLS INTO THE NECK-SHAPED PART OF THE BULB; SAID DEVICE BEING CHARACTERIZED IN THAT THE LOWER PART OF THE INCLINED GUIDE IS VERTICALLY DISPOSED, A MEMBER MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO SAID LOWER PART OF THE GUIDE, SAID MEMBER IN ITS 